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Callista Gingrich: A force behind the scenes for Newt

There’s little doubt Callista Gingrich is the most important force in the Newt’s life. | Reuters

Callista’s husband recently suggested to ABC News that she’s an amalgamation of Nancy Reagan and Laura Bush, perhaps with a touch of Jackie Kennedy mixed in.

Kellyanne Conway, Gingrich’s pollster and a friend of the couple, said, “Callista is very easy to talk to, and the conversations can range from history and travel, to culture and religion, to politics and policy. Like Newt, she is genuinely interested in what people have to say, always incredibly polite, gracious and pleasant. She would make a wonderful First Lady, and perhaps the first who plays the French horn, and makes movies about both jihad and John Paul II."

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But in a campaign where candidate spouses like Ann Romney, Anita Perry and Mary Kay Huntsman have been highly visible public advocates and her husband has put her so solidly in the foreground — many sentences that Newt Gingrich utters begin with, “Callista and I…” — many have wondered exactly what role she plays and will play if he is the GOP nominee.

Bossie noted that “she hasn’t been the wife of an elected official and she hasn’t had to be in the forefront.”

But, he added, “She’s an incredibly capable and articulate spokesperson for Newt.”

Being an Ann Romney or an Anita Perry, who have been vigorous campaign trail surrogates for their spouses, is “not who Callista is or where she comes from,” her old boss, former Wisconsin Rep. Steve Gunderson told POLITICO in an interview. “And there is a Midwestern rural kind of reserve characteristic that is in all of us – men or women, that type of thing. And you don’t have a tendency to push yourself out front and be really aggressive. You ought to be really sincere, but you don’t want to be overly aggressive. That’s not Callista.”

The picture is complicated by the couple’s awkward history — prior to their marriage, she was a congressional staffer having an affair with him while he was still married to his second wife — and that relationship has troubled some conservatives.

So far, Gingrich has been working to smooth over any lingering questions. He met recently with a group of about 60 conservative leaders outside Washington (Callista didn’t join him, but one of his daughters did, according to an attendee) and explained, as he often does when asked about his marital history, that he is in a loving relationship and has learned from his mistakes. However, multiple sources said some people murmured to one another about how frequently he started sentences using her name.

For now, most of what people know about Callista is her immaculately coiffed blond hair, bold-colored tailored suits and a slim strand of pearls around her neck. Heavily-jeweled earlier in the year — a fact that was often taken note of after her husband revealed his $500,000 line of credit with Tiffany’s in his financial disclosure statements — she seems to have toned down her appearance a bit in recent months.

Whether that is enough, especially for conservative women, remains to be seen.

“I find there’s a gender gap,” said Southern Baptist Convention’s Richard Land. “I find that evangelical men are willing to cut him some slack and give him the benefit of the doubt, but a sizable percentage of the evangelical women want to hear more.”

I, for one, do not want to see this woman as our "First lady". What she does or has done in her private life, is her business. But, as First Lady she would become a role model. and that becomes my business, as a voter.

Needless to say, I would not vote for Newt , not even for dog catcher. My disagreement with his private life, if that he abused his power when leading the charge to impeach President Clinton, while he & Callista were actually doing the same thing. This is hyprocrisy in its most virulent form. And she was a part of that. They simple need to fanish into the masses and live their own lives.

Neither of these 2 people are fit to lead a nation, in my view. Furthermore, Newt probably has a border line personality problem and seems to lead toward being a sociapath. He has little control, flight of ideas and grandiosity. Think about it folks.

I know this is harsh & somewhat judgemental. But, comes with the voter requirements of us all.

I can't buy this story that Callista would make a good First Lady...Good grief.....she is the absolute WORST role model for the family. I am particulary offended as a Catholic to see this woman portrayed as someone with religious convictions with her participation in the Choir of the cathedral every week while she was repeatedly sleeping with a married man. It is not about the divorce or a one night stand, it is about the PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR. Did she not examine her conscience every week before receiving Communion and not realizing she was repeatedly sinning? I am not a holy roller but good grief, where is the humility?? Asking God for forgiveness is one thing but proclaiming that you would be a model to lead the free world is another thing. Same with Newt....he was a Lutheran, a Baptist and now a Catholic. While forgiveness is good, let's not flaunt the candidate with the most visible moral indiscretions.

She not only was a home wrecker but was aware that Newts wife at the time was battling cancer. There is no way she is going to be first lady. Anyone that thinks women voters would support this pair in the WH is crazy. I dont care what party.

I have to agree with those who have misgivings about BOTH Gingriches. Is a first lady who's much maligned for her concern about children's health and fitness really more repugnant than a first lady who's a homewrecker -- messing around with a married man and then piously receiving credit for his Catholic epiphanies? I do believe in second chances and redemption. But I wish Newt Gingrich had demonstrate his "smartest guy in the room" cred by finding conservatives a candidate who's actually electable, rather than promoting his own fame and fortune as he always does.

This is an absolutely ridiculous idea I'm going to put forth here: The reptilian connection between the Gingrich couple.

A newt is a salamander. Recently I caught her giving a short speech at a conservative women's forum. When you watch her, you can't help but catch that her eyes strongly resemble that of a salamander type creature when they move. Still they look perfectly normal. Must be in the structure. She is well-groomed, but that can't be covered up.

This couple had a "Catholic" marriage only because the Catholic Church denied the validity of Gingrich's previous two Protestant marriages. Why are not conservative evangelical Protestants as outraged over this insult as they are over Romney's Mormonism?

Along with the extra-marital sex violation of Catholic law, what about the violation of the Catholic law on birth control? Gingrich is fertile as he had children with his previous "invalid" marriages. Since they have no children, either Calista is infertile or they violate Catholic law by using birth control. Or did they abort unwanted pregnancies?

Calista's extreme concern that she have a Catholic marriage to a Catholic while she very publicly violated one if not two Catholic laws is hypocrisy at its best.

This couple had a "Catholic" marriage only because the Catholic Church denied the validity of Gingrich's previous two Protestant marriages. Why are not conservative evangelical Protestants as outraged over this insult as they are over Romney's Mormonism?

Along with the extra-marital sex violation of Catholic law, what about the violation of the Catholic law on birth control? Gingrich is fertile as he had children with his previous "invalid" marriages. Since they have no children, either Calista is infertile or they violate Catholic law by using birth control. Or did they abort unwanted pregnancies?

Calista's extreme concern that she have a Catholic marriage to a Catholic while she very publicly violated one if not two Catholic laws is hypocrisy at its best.

I am more concerned with the President having attended the racist church of Reverend Wright for twenty years.